Dynamite and Destruction
by Perambulating Panda
Summary: Things in the Quarry region couldn't be better, at least, until Willow is stationed there as a rookie Ranger. She thought this would be her chance to make her family proud, but now she doesn't know what to think. Buildings are blowing up left and right and behind it all are these mysterious people that seem to melt into the crowd. Now it's up to her. Accepting OC's for now.


_Dear Willow, _

_Congratulations on graduating Ranger School! We are awaiting your arrival here at the Lazuli Town base with crossed fingers. In the package you received with this letter are four uniforms, a wrist communicator and a ferry ticket for 8:00, Sunday morning on June the 22__nd__. Please wear your uniform when disembarking at Onyx Harbor and meet up with Max Hallond at your dock. If you have trouble locating your escort, use the wrist communicator to contact us. We can't wait to make you part of our team! Safe journeys! _

_-Lysander Croft._

I had read the letter over and over until I had memorized the words. This was it! I was finally a full-fledged Ranger and I was going to start work tomorrow. I put the letter back on my desk and danced across the room to the tune of _Thanks for the Memories_ by Fall Out Boy. I had laid everything out and was trying to stuff it all in my duffel bag.

My uniforms? Check. My communicator? Check. Clothes for different occasions? Check. Three different pairs of shoes? Check. Jovi? Ch-wait a minute. Jovi laughed and hopped in my bag, nestling himself into my nicely folded clothes.

"Jovi, you can't come with. Out." My mother's little Pichu sulked as he climbed out of my bag. I loved the little spark, but he was not Ranger material. He was too lazy and accident prone.

"Pichuuu," he pouted. I scratched his ears.

"Sorry bud, but you've gotta stay with Mama. She needs your help with the triplets." Jovi puffed out his chest with pride. He was always ready to help, even if it meant keeping the triplets, Mark, John and Tyler, busy while Mama got things done around the house. He hopped off my desk and scurried out the door.

As I was winding down for the night, I thought about all the things I could be doing over in the Quarry Region. At school, we had representatives from Fiore, Almia and even Oblivia, but not from Quarry. Not many people knew about the region in the middle of the ocean, but those that did often said it was even more peaceful than Oblivia before that muss with the whole Pokémon Pinchers incident.

That was actually what inspired me to become a Ranger. See, I lived in Hoenn, a Trainer region. My parents supported me in deliberating my choices. They said I would have to think about it hard because it was what I would be doing for quite a while. Unlike my older sister, Jackie, I didn't have much drive to become Champion of anything. Damien, my older brother, had left to be a Coordinator a few years ago and was quickly gaining a reputation for being a prodigy.

But I didn't want to go around and catch Pokémon. When the news of the Oblivia perils reached the Hoenn shores, I knew then what I wanted to do. I wanted to do something that mattered. So I told my parents that I wanted to be a Ranger and they transferred me to the Ranger school in Almia. I had missed nearly half a semester, but my new friends made sure that I was caught up quickly. Ms. April was nothing but supportive in my after class study sessions with her and we actually shared a few inside jokes together.

My heart panged a little when I thought of my friends from school. We hadn't talked since we left after graduation. I wondered where Eli and Lilly had been assigned. Even Clay crossed my mind, but only briefly. We weren't the best of friends. If anything, we were friendly rivals. He and I constantly competed against each other in anything from capture time to written quizzes. He could be a bit headstrong, but he always made sure I knew he was doing it all in good fun.

A yawn split my jaw in two and I decided I might as well get as much sleep as I could. Morning would be chaotic, but it would be the last morning I would have with my family in a while. Maybe on holidays I could get a plane ticket back and visit, but that wouldn't be for a while. Christmas was closest and that wasn't for nearly six months. I yawned again and shut off the Lanturn lamp by my bed. Tomorrow I could worry about those things. Tomorrow, when my efforts finally came to fruition. Tomorrow…

~*~*~*~*~ … … … … … … ~*~*~*~*~… … … … … …

"Willow! Willow!"

"Wake up Willow!"

"Willow!"

"Get up sleepy head!" I tried fumbling for my alarm, but my hand landed on a head of curly hair instead. I groped about for the electronic, but only found two more curly messes in my search. Three sets of giggles all laughed together. I cracked my eye open and found the little, black haired triplets crowded at the edge of my bed. My five-year-old brothers all giggled again. Smiling, I launched myself out of bed at them. They squealed when I tackled them to the floor.

"Who dares disturbs the giant's slumber!" I bellowed playfully. Tyler, the one with green eyes grabbed a cardboard sword from his belt. John, the blue-eyed one, scrambled for his wooden stick from the tree outside. Lastly, Mark, the hazel-eyed little cutie, grabbed his aluminum foil shield and put it in front of his chest.

"We the Knights of the Bronzor Table have come to chase the giant out from her cave!" Tyler yelled, jabbing at me with his sword.

"Come out giant, or we shall use force!" Mark followed, brandishing his shield like it was his own sword.

"Force and magic!" John piped in, pointing his stick at me.

"Cruel fate, sending three knights to subdue a single giant that hasn't even showered yet! I have yet to even wash the dirt from my hair and already I am disturbed by the famous Knights of the Bronzor Table!" I roared at them and scooped them into my arms. They all squealed and wriggled like little Wurmple. "I shall battle them when I am presentable. Go to your commander and tell her the giant will arrive once she has found her armor and sharpened her weapons!" The three ran off down the hallway after I set them down at my door. I smiled after them and wished I could spend one more day with them, but I had a ferry to catch and the port was a long walk away.

I showered, towel dried my brown and neon green tipped locks and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt decorated with red diamonds. I grabbed the duffel I packed last night, swiped the ferry ticket from my desk and loped down the steps. Chester, our lazy Delcatty, meowed at me at the bottom of the steps and rolled over. Jovi hopped up to my shoulder and rode with me into the kitchen.

Tyler, John and Mark were all chowing down on pancakes and eggs. Sarah was in her high-chair, enjoying a pile of Cheerio's with a sippy-cup of orange juice. She had somehow managed to get some in her peach fuzz of brown hair and all over her chubby cheeks. Mama was holding Lane as she flipped pancakes at the stove. Da was doing dishes at the sink in his usual calm manner. I loved the way they worked together so effortlessly. Da, with his curly black hair and mismatched eyes of blue and green was always calm and collected while Mama, with her long brown hair and near gold, brown eyes was quick enough to keep the rabble in check and- at least I thought –practically psychic. For some reason she always knew what was happening and what was going to happen with her children.

I took Lane from Mama's arms and sat at the table with him. His little brown eyes lit up when he smiled at me. I'd deny it if you told anyone, but Lane was secretly my favorite. He was quiet like Da and expressive like Mama. He went for the plastic plate of cut up pancakes Mama set in front of him and quietly ate his food.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Mama said, planting a kiss in the crown of my head.

"Mornin' Mama. Mornin' Da." Da smiled at me and saluted with two fingers, a gesture I'd come to imitate often, out of habit usually.

"When does your ferry leave again?" he asked, putting a stack of plates back in the cupboard.

"8:00. I have to be at the port in an hour." Mom gave me my own plate of eggs and I quickly wolfed hem down. Her cooking was so delicious it would melt your brain.

"Before you leave, make sure you say goodbye to Captain Morgan. He's docked over by the ferries today to make sure he sees you before you go." Captain Erik Morgan was the man I had worked for four years before I went to Ranger school. He hired me when I was eleven to help out on his ship when it was in port. He said I reminded him of his grandchild out in the Johto region and putting a kid to work would build character. I don't know about character, but I received a fair amount of muscle from that job. To this day, Clay had yet to beat me in an arm wrestling challenge.

I dumped my plate in the sink and set Lane at his own seat. Da gave me a hug and Mama slipped my good luck charm in my hand. It was just a round pendant of emerald green Beryl on a green string, but I liked the way it shined in the light. I slipped it around my neck and gave my mom a hug.

"All right, I'm off. Don't worry about me, I'll write when I can." Everyone waved as I stepped out the door. It was too bad Jackie and Damien couldn't be there, but Damien was currently competing in the Lavaridge contest and Jackie was somewhere in the Kanto region stirring up trouble.

The Lilycove harbor wasn't too far a walk from our house, but I wanted to make sure I got there on time. Boats were nefarious for leaving without passengers if they were even a little bit late around here. And I did have to say goodbye to Erik. I picked up my pace and started jogging past the port city sights.

Lots of people out early waved as I passed. Lilycove was a nice city with lots of friendly people and Pokémon. Occasionally we'd get harassed by thugs like Team Magma and Aqua, but not that often. The last incident was when I was near about eight years old. Lilycove was almost flooded in the torrential rain brought by Kyogre. I don't remember the name of the people who put a stop to both teams, but I knew they must have been pretty amazing to do so.

"Ahoy Willow!" I looked up at the tall, wooden ship, seeing Captain Morgan leaning over the rail. Her name was _Lady Fortune_. Morgan adored his old ship and I loved it too.

"Good morning Captain!" I shouted back, saluting him with two fingers. He saluted back.

"On your way to your new life, are ya?" I nodded.

"Yep. I'm off to the Quarry Region to be a Ranger!" Captain smiled and straightened his hat over his grey hair.

"Well don't forget what I taught ya here on Ms. Fortune."

"I won't Captain. Take good care of her while I'm gone!" He laughed loudly and waved as I jogged past. My days on Lady Fortune were over, but that didn't mean he could let her get dirty… not that he would. Captain had monumental respect for every boat, not just his own.

I finally made it to Dock 18 at 7:55. The boat I was taking to Quarry was docked and ready to leave. She was huge, white and sparkled with the sun reflected off the water. I was about to head towards the gangplank when a man bumped into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, sorry, sorry," he twitched and ran off towards the boat. I simply stared after him. He was oddly dressed in a long, black trench coat and a dark hat. It was the start of summer… in a tropical region. What was he thinking? I brushed it off as eccentrics and handed my ticket to the woman at the end of the gangplank.

"Just in time. Your room is number 107 and is on the second floor. Have a nice trip!" I thanked her and boarded the boat.

In no time at all, the boat left the harbor and we set sail out to the small region of Quarry. I found my room with no problems and set my stuff by the bed. It would take roughly half a day to get to Quarry, but I'd heard that the weather was nice… so maybe about five o'clock instead. I flopped on the bed and stared at the clock. At least eight hours until I had to get up and get ready… what could I do for eight hours?

I didn't even get far enough to contemplate what I was going to do. I'd gotten very little sleep last night and the bed was just so… so comfy… I was out like a drugged log before you could say, 'Piplup pickles'.

* * *

"_Attention Passengers, we will be arriving at Onyx Harbor in half an hour. Please be ready to disembark and thank you for choosing Wailord Travel Ships._" The PA system woke me up from my nap. I looked around the cabin in a bleary haze until reality set in. I had to be ready in half an hour!

I jumped off the bed and started digging for my uniform in the duffel. Pulling out the red jacket, black shorts and back tank top, I hurriedly changed out my civilian clothes. The tank top was just the right size and had a thick, white stripe going down the middle. The shorts were accented with yellow pockets, lines and a yellow belt. They reached to the middle of my thighs before they ended in a neat hem. The jacket was a bit big, but I was used to that since my small frame never fit anything. The red sleeves were too long, so I rolled them up to my elbows, showing the yellow color underneath. The thing was decorated with numerous pockets and many yellow accent lines.

When I looked in the mirror I felt like a racer, or a model. Accented with my black and white striped tights and my red high-tops, I looked every bit the Ranger I was so ready to be. I fiddled with my bangs and tried to get them to lay straight, but the dang things insisted on swooshing across my forehead. I sighed and let their green selves stay. I grabbed my bag and headed out to the front deck to wait for the boat to land at the harbor.

The sun was shining over the green island in the distance. Many of the other passengers were similarly waiting by the rails. A few kids ran between legs and bags, upsetting some of the middle aged couples. I noticed the man in the hat and trench coat leaning on the railing away from all the other people. He still hadn't changed, which was weird considering the weather around here was even warmer. I decided to talk to him.

He jumped a little when I dropped my bag and leaned over the rail with him. His dark grey eyes were surprised and his cheek muscle twitched a bit. I smiled at him and held out a hand.

"Hello, I'm Willow. It's nice to meet you." He silently shook my hand and nodded in return. "Aren't you hot in that?"

"No," he replied simply in a deeper voice than I thought he'd have. I frowned and turned my gaze back to the sparkling blue water. The green island was much closer and I could see the boats in the harbor like a bunch of Combee in a nest. The white sailboats and the huge ocean-liners looked so strange next to each other, like they were from different worlds.

"So, do you have any relatives in Quarry?" I asked the man. His cheek twitched and he nodded.

"I'm meeting people, yes. Why are you here?" I smiled broadly.

"I've been stationed here as a Ranger. I'm going to the base in Lazuli Town." He looked down at me like I was a strange creature.

"A Ranger? Aren't you a little young for that?" I chose not to answer that. Everyone always thought I was a kid because I was so small. It wasn't that I was short, because I was perfectly average, thank you very much. It was because I was thin and 'underdeveloped in the chest area' as Clay had so eloquently put it once.

"I've offended you, I'm sorry." I sighed and waved it off.

"It's fine. I hope you and your, uh, people have a nice day." I picked up my bag and headed towards the exit. Our boat was already pulling into the dock and I didn't want to get caught up in the rush of people. Despite my efforts, though, I was one of the last to get off the boat, followed only by a family with many little children and the guy in the coat.

I weaved through the crowd of people in search of the guy with the Ranger uniform. Max Hallond was who I was looking for and currently failing to find. A rather rude man pushed past me and knocked me on my ass. He disappeared in the crowd before I could yell at him, but a pair of hands picked me off the ground quickly. I looked up into the face of a young man, around twenty, and he smiled at me as he dusted off my jacket. His black hair was curly and long and it complimented his violet eyes.

"Hey there, you must be our new rookie," he said. I then noticed he was wearing a Ranger uniform and had a capture styler belted at his hip. He held out a hand for me to shake, which I did. "I'm Max Hallond, nice to meet you. And if I remember right, you're Wylla?"

"Nope. It's Willow, actually. And it's nice to meet you too." He laughed and slapped his forehead.

"Sorry, I'm not so good with names. Well, on behalf of the Ranger Union and our base, welcome to Quarry!" I laughed at his energetic welcome and grabbed my bag off the ground.

"Well, I'm glad to be here. Shall we get going?" He pumped a fist in the air and winked at me.

"A gal who takes charge, I like that. But before we go, I have to give you this." He dug around in his cargo shorts pockets and pulled out another styler. "This one is yours now."

I took it and couldn't help but smile. It was official now. I was a Ranger and I would be helping people all over the region with this little thing. It was the size of a PokéDex and the handle fit in the palm of my hand. The sky blue disc was nestled in the device and was awaiting a chance to capture something. It really wasn't all that different from the green, school stylers, but I knew these ones were more advanced. They had a screen for messaging and allowed the use of Assists from your friend Pokémon.

"Do you have your wrist communicator?" Max asked. I dug into the pocket on the outside of my duffel and pulled it out. It looked a bit like the X-Tranceiver from Unova, but it was a bit more updated. "Good. Wireless signals don't get around well here, so these are programmed to run on a special signal that is always active in Quarry. Make sure you keep it on."

"I will," I said, strapping the thing on my right wrist. I put my new styler in the pouch on my belt and hefted my duffel over my shoulder.

"So, Willow. Are you ready to go see Lazuli Town for yourself?" Max asked. I smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.

"You bet!" He smiled in return and headed for the middle of Onyx Harbor, straight north of us. I knew that Lazuli Town was north of Onyx and then the island broadened into the Quarry region. I followed straight after Max so I didn't lose him in the crowd of sailors and travelers.

It wasn't long until we hit the city streets. They were full of people and shops meant for the tourists. Curios and knickknacks dotted the windows and more than a few stores held the favored black stone jewelry from the shops in Onyx. But we didn't make it far into the city heart before a loud explosion rumbled through the streets, nearly making me trip and fall.

Max whirled around towards the harbor, searching for the source of the blast. A black trail of smoke came from the industrial section, right next to the harbor itself. He looked back at me and then back at the smoke before he came to a conclusion.

"Well, rook, looks like you get to learn on the job." He set off back the way we came. "Step lively Willow, we've got a Mission." I followed resolutely and felt the adrenaline in my veins already.

* * *

**Hello all! Perambulating Panda here, at your service. Some of you may have known me as HakunaMatataAmiga, but I've changed my name and deleted my stories. Sorry if you were following them. I needed a fresh start and this is how I'll do it. I will be accepting three OC's for characters in this story as Rangers at the Lazuli Town Base. Hope y'all send me some gems! Form's just below. Please send them via PM. I don't want these in the reviews.**

**Name:  
Age:  
Gender:**

**Looks:  
Ranger Uniform/Accessories to jazz it up (In case you want them to have a different uniform. Default is what Willow's looks like):**

**Personality:**

**Background:**

**Partner Pokemon:**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

**Strongest Skill (like capturing, using Assists, Target Clears, long Missions, short Missions, Quests, etc.):**

**Flaws (as few or as many as you'd like, minimum of one): **

**Fears:**

**Years as a Ranger: **

**Anything else you'd like me to know:**


End file.
